Ian Foster commends Ashley Phillips and Darko Gyabi for their Plymouth Argyle debuts.

Ian Foster was certain that Ashley Phillips and Darko Gyabi, the two new teenage loan recruits for Plymouth Argyle, would start in the team’s 1-1 Championship away draw against Huddersfield Town.

At the John Smith’s Stadium, 18-year-old Phillips positioned himself on the right side of the Pilgrims’ defensive trio, while 19-year-old Gyabi, who had only practiced with his new teammates for two days, took up a central midfield position.

Some may have thought it was a risk to start such inexperienced youngsters right away, but head coach Foster had complete faith in them and in Phillips’ performance in particular, and Gyabi proved that.

As a former Football Association coach, Foster is well-versed in both players, having come through the England age group teams.

Foster stated: “I don’t think you would assume they were making their debuts or that they were both adolescents if you weren’t familiar with them before the game.

“I’ve stated previously that when I choose a team, I don’t consider birth certificates. These players are people I know. These players have my trust. The fact that the other members of the group made them feel so welcome during the week has been fantastic.

“I’ve always been certain that they’re prepared to begin. How much of the game they could play through was presumably the question.

“Sometimes, it can be challenging to sign players because of their parent club’s game history. When it comes to being in the first team group and not playing (under) 21s football, they find themselves torn between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Even games from the 21st century can’t always prepare you for what’s ahead, so I was happy with how they handled the game and the atmosphere.

“They showed great bravery while in control, and I think that playing for at least 90 minutes will really benefit them in terms of gaining